27th June 2017

The Guardian has defended an article which asked whether a Welsh-medium education harmed children.

The message, sent by the Guardian to readers who had complained about the article, argued that it “was honestly reported, and these parents’ concerns are genuine”.

It also said that some of those the Guardian approached for comment did not want to discuss the matter. “This may have led some readers to feel that the article was one-sided,” it says.

The message also refers the comments by Professor Diarmait Mac Giolla Chríost, who is quoted in the article, as evidence that Welsh-medium education “doesn’t really work in the long run”.

The message is from Jonathan Allford of the Guardian Readers’ editor’s office but quotes an unnamed editor who commissioned the article.

Jonathan Allford writes that the education desk has also commissioned an article which will report from a Welsh-medium school’s perspective.

“I understand the impact this article has had on the Welsh-speaking community,” he says in the message.

“It’s an emotive, political and often heated debate and due to coverage of Wales across the media in general, I can see how this article has been perceived by some readers as an attack.

“The perspectives in this article were from parents of children who struggled in Welsh-medium schools, I appreciate that isn’t the perspective of all parents in Wales, nor is it necessarily indicative of Wales more widely.

“The Guardian strives to provide balanced reporting in all articles it publishes, however in this case the article included personal anecdotes from parents specifically about their children and the impact Welsh-medium schools have had on them.”